Artillery wheel structure



will! C. L. EKSERGIAN ARTILLERY WHEEL STRUCTURE Original Filed June 7, 1932 INVENTOR wrdusLE/mi yun,

BY /0 %T TQRNEY July 7, 1936 15 necessary strength, proof against oxidation and ing members, as to add substantially to the 5 Patented July 7, 1936 v inns eras earner owin ARTILLERY WHEEL STRUCTURE Carolus L. Eksergian, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Budd Wheel Company, Philadelphia, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June '7, 1932, Serial No. 615,885 Renewed December 13, 1935 8 Claims. (01. 201-9) My invention relates to wheels and particularly The arrangement of parts, whereby the outer to pressed-metal wheels of the artillery-type. ends of the thin-gauge cover plate fingers are One object of my invention is to close an arentirely encased by the heavier-gauge spoke and tillery-wheel hollow-body stamping against the rim-receiving elements, permits the plate to be 5 admission of moisture and other foreign matter thinner than would otherwise be the case,- thus 5 thereto. lessening the weight of the wheel, effecting a Another object is to facilitate the assembly of, saving in die costs and wear, economizing in maand to strengthen the holding relation between, terial, facilitating manufacture and assembly, a hollow open-side wheel member and a. closure and effecting other advantages. 10 element therefor. The above-mentioned features are augmented 10 A further object is to provide a metal wheel by, or combined with, ribs on the spokes that so structure that shall be simple and durable in conextend substantially throughout the major porstruction, economical to manufacture, effective in tions of the lengths of the spokes, or from the its operation, of light weight, without sacrificing nave to positions axially opposite the rim-receivan improvement generally in its field. strength of the spokes, without adding material,

In practicing the invention, an outer load-susweight or cost: taining stamping or spider, preferably of rela- Figure 1, of the accompanying drawing, is a tively heavy gauge sheet steel, is formed to have view, in side elevation, of one-half of a wheel 20, rear-opening spokes of channel section and a embodying the invention, 7 nave. In each spoke, a relatively short sheet- Fig. 2'is a view, in enlarged axial section, of

| metal element, of rear-opening channel section the device of Fig. 1, taken substantially along conforming to the inner surfaces of the spoke, the line 2-2 thereof, is provided with an outer-end transverse closure Fig. 3 is a view, in further enlarged section,

wall fiush with the open outer end of the spoke taken substantially along the lines 3 3 of Figs.

to receive a rim in welded, riveted or otherwise 1 and 2, and attached, relation thereto; the sides of this rim- Fig. 4 is a View, similar to Fig. 3, taken substanreceiving member being secured to the sides of tially along the lines 4-4 of Figs. 1 and'2.

the spoke, as by welding, and extending only a Referring to the drawing, a hub! has aflange sufficient distance radially inwardly of the spoke 8 forsecuring thereto, as by studs 9 and cap nuts 23 for such purpose. ll], a brake drum l2 and a load-sustaining wheel A light-gauge, sheet-steel, preferably flat, covbody or spider, preferably of relatively heavy er-plate spider, conforming, in general, to the gauge stainless steel, wheel-plane contour of the above mentioned This spider comprises a mounting plate por- 3'5 load-sustaining spider, has radial finger plates tion 14, having inturned flanges and conical seats fitted against the rear wheel-plane edges of the I5 for the nuts 10, a :conical nave portion 56, spokes andnave, and against the r r wheelrearwardly opening outer side reinforcing ribs H plane edges of the rim-receiving members, raof radially-outwardly converging tapered chandially within the transverse end closure walls of. n l i n nd p k i of r w r yp s the rim-receiving members. channel section. The body ispreferably of tap- 0 The cover plate and its fingers are suitably ered gauge having substantially wheel-plane sealed and secured in position to the nave and sides slightly converging radially outwardly from spokes, as by welding, about the adjacent edges the mounting plate, along the nave and spokes. thereof, but, in accordance with a salient fea- The nave is preferably also provided with axiallyture of the invention, are further reinforced, and in p ti n 9, p r m i ly e w en th 45 secured in position, adjacent to the radially-outer spokes, havin -p a a Su faces flush ends of the spokes, by integral tabs on the spokes. with the rear surfaces of the spokes, or edges of These tabs, originally in the form of fiaps or ears the channel Side Walls thereof. extending axially continuously of the channel Outer-end closure, or rim-receiving membe s sides of the spokes. at the outer ends thereof, 38 for the spokes are each provided with side walls 50 are inturned, or bent inwardly of the spokes, par- 29 and are of rearwardly Opening Channel S allel to the wheel plane, over the rear sides of tion, conforming to e p y a t a sve se-Secthe cover-plate fingers and against the axiallytion contour of the spokes, and an outer-end cloinner edges of the transverse end-closure walls of sure wall 2 l. The side walls 20 are secured to the the rim-receiving members. 1 spoke, preferably by welding, and the wall 2| is 55 adapted to receive a usual pressed metal rim 23, as by welding, riveting or otherwise securing it thereto.

A cover-plate spider, preferably of relatively thin-gauge stainless sheet-steel and initially divided into segments, has an annular portion 25, radially and axially inwardly of the nave, and is further provided with radially outwardly extending finger plates 25 conforming to, and fitted flat against, the rear wheel-plane surfaces or edges of the spokes I8. The rear wheel-plane surfaces, or edges, of the channel sides 20 of the rim-receiving members 30 are also flush against the adjacent sides of the fingers 25 but the radially outer end walls 2! thereof extend to the opposite, or rear sides of the finger portions 25 of the spider.

In this position, the cover plate and its fingers are welded preferably through the peripheries thereof which meet the wheel plane surface of the spokes and nave portions as at 3|.

Tabs 27, that are initially axial extensions of the channel sides of the spokes, are provided adjacent to the outer ends thereof and bent inwardly of the spokes to embrace the outer end and adjacent side edges of the fingers 25; this feature strengthening the welded, or other, joints between the spokes and cover therefor, and constituting shielding means for the thin gauge finger ends at positions where they are most subject to damage or separation from the spokes.

By having the ribs I! extend substantially throughout the major portions of the lengths of the spokes, or from the nave to positions axially opposite the inner ends of the rim-receiving elements 30, the spokes are materially strengthened throughout the lengths thereof, since the elements 30 take up the duty of reinforcing the spokes at the inner sides where the ribs taper or merge into the spokes at the outer sides.

While I have shown and described a particular form of my invention, changes may be effected therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A wheel comprising a sheet-metal stamping in the form of a spider including a nave and a spoke of rearwardly-opening channel section having transversely-inturned, rear-edge, outerend tabs, a rim-receiving member of rearwardlyopening channel section in the spoke having an outer-end wall flush with the outer end of the spoke, and a spider having a fiat-plate radial outer projection conforming to and closing, the open rear side of the spoke against the inner wheel-plane edges of said rim-receiving member radially inside said outer-end wall and embraced by said tabs.

2. A pressed metal artillery wheel body comprising a unitary spoke spider including a mounting flange portion, a plurality of substantially radially extending spokes, a substantially conical nave portion connecting said flange and spoke portions, said spokes being of deep U-section, said spider having its spoke and nave portions terminating in axially inner edges forming a wheel plane flat surface, and a closure member fitting flush against said surface and resistance welded thereto.

3. A pressed metal artillery wheel comprising a spoke member of axially inwardly opening channel section, a member of axially inwardly opening channel section fitting into the spoke member and secured thereto, said members having axially inner edges lying substantially in a plane, and a cover plate fitting against and secured to said coplanar edges and closing the open sides of said members.

l. A pressed metal artillery wheel comprising an open end spoke member of axially inwardly opening channel section, a member of axially inwardly opening channel section fitting into the channel section of the spoke and secured thereto and having a wall closing the outer end of the spoke member, said members having their axially inner edges lying substantially in a plane, and a cover plate fitting against said coplanar edges and resistance welded thereto, thereby closing the open sides of said members.

5. A pressed metal artillery wheel body comprising a unitary spoke spider including a mounting flange portion, a plurality of channel section spokes, and a substantially conically extending nave connecting said mounting flange and spokes and having the roots of the spokes pressed therefrom, and radial reinforcing ribbing extending from within said fiange through the nave and spoke roots and into the main bodies of the spokes for a substantial portion of the length thereof.

6. An artillery wheel body having channel section spokes of relatively thick gauge, the edges of each spoke lying substantially in a plane and providing an axially presented attaching face, and a thin gauge cover plate fitting fiatlyupon the attaching face made by said coplanar edges and resistance welded thereto.

'7. An artillery wheel body having channel section spokes of relatively thick gauge, the edges of each spoke lying substantially in a plane, and providing an axially presented attaching face and a thin gauge cover plate having a continuous annulus and spoke arms radiating therefrom,

said spoke arms fitting flatly upon the attaching face made by said coplanar edges of the spokes and welded thereto.

8. An artillery wheel body having a nave portion and channel section spokes radiating therefrom and having root portions pressed from said nave portion, the outer periphery of the nave and the spokes having axially inwardly presented edge faces lying substantially in the same plane and providing attaching faces, and a thin gauge cover plate fitting flatly upon said coplanar attaching faces and resistance welded thereto.

CAROLUS L. EKSERGIAN. 

